Tombs

The Theban hillside on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor contains thousands of tombs cut into the limestone. The tombs were built for pharoahs, queens, family members, nobles and artisans. The main areas to visit are The Valley of the Kings, The Valley of the Queens and The Tombs of the Nobles. The Valley of the Kings has so far been found to contain 63 tombs; the most famous of which is Kings Valley 62 (KV 62) – the Tomb of Tutankhamun. It is not famous because he was a great pharoah but because it was found intact in 1922. The other tombs have long since been robbed and many were used for sheltering people and animinals.

The tombs were heavily decorated with images showing the life of the person and references to the gods who would deliver them to the afterlife. The hieraglyphics include cartouches which have enabled egyptolygists to identify the inhabitant. Probabaly the finest tomb is that of Queen Nefertari, one of the five wives of Ramses II.